People vs Algorithms

The election in many ways confirmed what many had suspected: the information space has superceded and subsumed the traditional media world. Traditional media is now just one node, and perhaps more alarmingly its influence – and ability to persuade – has drastically declined.

We talk in this episode about the implications of this shift, particularly with the spotlight now on what’s being called the manosphere, a chaotic loose confederation of podcasters and YouTubers who have seemingly broken through to be a key node of persuasion for young men. Plus: Is CNN fixable?

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We run through the implications of the return of Donald Trump to the presidency after an election that saw the mainstream news media making way for new power brokers in unusual guises. The podcast election proved to be real – and a harbinger of changes to come as the Information Space subsumes the Fourth Estate.

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Complex is a digital media survivor. It has lived many lives, including as a magazine, a dot-com, an ad network, Go90 (RIP) provider, YouTube showrunner, events organizer, hot sauce merchant, neglected BuzzFeed brand, and now in its latest iteration as a commerce engine. Complex President Moksha Fitzgibbons joins the show to discuss his return to Complex, where he was an integral part of the founding team going back to its Marc Ecko days, and how the youth culture brand is betting on combining its reach and engagement with the live shopping platform of NTWRK, which bought Complex for $108 million in February. Moksha discusses how the brand plans to focus increasingly on driving commerce and far less on selling advertising. Plus: Brian and Troy discuss the news industry’s current meltdown at the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House.

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There’s a new consensus about the media business that is emerging. The past is not coming back, that much is for certain. The challenges are well known, and the bright spots — and they exist — tend to be smaller and harder to scale.

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Mass media’s extinction event has come first for text content. Text is increasingly being "pushed down the stack" and commoditized due to AI's ability to generate, manipulate, and reformat text content. This shift is forcing media companies that primarily deal in text to adapt or risk becoming obsolete. While text isn't disappearing entirely, its role is changing. It's becoming more of an input for other forms of media rather than the primary output. Meanwhile, other parts of media are gaining in influence. This will turn out to be the podcast election, as Kamala Harris prepares to make her closing case to… Joe Rogan while continuing to snub mass media like Time and the New York Times. We also discuss the power of Fortnite, which points to a future of media where content is a means to an ends. In the case of Fortnite, that ends is a combination of a place to hang out, a hub for commercial events like virtual concerts, a competitive environment premised on participation rather than inert consumption, and a communication medium. Plus: Bill Gates is apparently a good product.

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This week, we take a look at making bets that go wrong, and how it’s often difficult to tell if a bet is a bad one in the short term. Was Meta’s bet on VR a bad bet? Maybe in the short term, but perhaps not in the long term. Media companies have made their fair share of bad bets over the years, although there weren’t many options available. Will the parade of AI deals join the pile of bad bets? Plus… Good Product with a VERY special guest Steve Katelman.

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This week, we discuss a new framework for the media industry that separates content into two distinct categories: "above the line" and "below the line" media. The line in question represents the threshold of human uniqueness in content creation. Above it lies the territory where human creativity, insight, and expertise still reign supreme. Below it, we find the realm increasingly dominated by AI-driven processes and automation. Plus: Taylor Lorenz and the question of whether packaged media can retain talent; AI dwindling the value of curation; synthetic social networks; and praise for bullshitters.

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The heart of organizations is tension, which when productive can lead to great outcomes. If it goes to extremes, disaster. This week, we discuss tension at OpenAI between its non-profit mission and massive ambitions, the tensions of hacking attention to sell products, the Trump tension between the truth and making a valid a point, and the tension between tech changing consumer expectations and media business models.

Episode links:

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We discuss the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google as a classic case of fighting the last war. And even if Google’s monopoly is dismantled, history shows to be careful of what you wish for because what comes next could be worse. Plus: Airmail’s weird business, the struggles at Food52 and why chicken parm is a great American product.

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This week we’re joined by Emily Sundberg and celebrate our 100th episode, talking about classic topics like X vs Threads and is Silence the best product.

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Founders can force change that managers (call them operators) can’t, at least as efficiently. Plus: AI land grab update, Gannett’s commerce play goes away, and the Sicilian tonnara and summer books.

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This is shaping up to be a TikTok election where relatability is at a premium. The successful rollout of the Harris-Walz ticket is moving authenticity from loudly telling the truths others dare not to something softer and more familiar. Plus: the recalibration of remote work, AI backlash and the difficulty of deciding level of spending on content as the weight of many publisher models shifts to indirect monetization paths.

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• 04:18 Political Campaign Strategies
• 13:00 Generational Shifts and Voting Patterns
• 19:20 The Future of Media and Technology
• 31:07 Prediction Markets and Media
• 35:46 Media Products and Betting Data
• 38:16 The Future of Remote Work
• 40:33 AI and Its Ethical Implications
• 42:42 Peter Thiel on Joe Rogan's Podcast
• 45:19 The Role of VCs in Politics
• 49:20 Good Product

This week, we discuss conversations vs interviews, why social networking has been replaced by algorithmic content, YouTube’s pivotal role in the emerging media space, and why the Olympics were a great media product.

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• 00:59 Introduction
• 04:22 Diving into the Elon Musk and Donald Trump Conversation
• 11:59 Bias in Media and Algorithms
• 19:33 Mr. Beast Controversy
• 23:35 YouTube's Role in Content Regulation
• 25:38 The Evolution of Social Networks
• 31:06 The Future of Media and Streaming
• 38:17 Good Product

A federal judge has ruled Google a monopoly for locking up distribution with Apple. We discuss the percent and likely impact. Also, memes as the media format of the moment, as they become how big events like the Olympics and presidential election become participatory. Meanwhile, YouTube is becoming modern TV.

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• 01:13 Google Declared a Monopoly
• 02:08 Historical Parallels with Microsoft
• 05:00 Apple's Role and Strategic Decisions
• 06:47 Google's Financial Strategies
• 10:55 The Evolution of Paid Search
• 19:39 The Role of Memes in Modern Media
• 30:09 Authenticity and Political Tactics
• 33:15 Twitter's Advertising Struggles
• 41:11 Media Landscape and Axios Layoffs
• 48:16 AI in Media and SearchGPT Review
• 56:10 YouTube's Dominance and Content Trends

OpenAI is readying a new search engine, Meta is pushing further into search with Llama, Perplexity is cutting deals with publishers. This week, we look to what the future of search looks like. Plus: why Nike ended up in Wall Street’s doghouse, why Tucker Carlson is a podcast star, and why Pulp Fiction still works.

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• 01:07 Discussing the Future of Search
• 04:05 Challenges and Opportunities in Search
• 09:03 Vertical Search and AI Overviews
• 11:16 Google's Exclusive Deals and Market Shifts
• 19:04 The Future of News and Subscription Models
• 24:05 The Rise of Media Personalities
• 28:18 Media Brands vs. Individual Personalities
• 30:04 Challenges for Legacy Media Brands
• 38:04 Nike's Digital Marketing Dilemma
• 44:48 Good Product

This week, we’re joined by Joe Marchese, operating and build partner at Human Ventures and veteran media exec. We discuss why the obsession with performance marketing has created incentives for many intermediaries to focus on giving the appearance of being responsible for a sale rather than actually contributing to the sale, and how that’s led to short-term approaches that skips the basics of building lasting brands. Plus: What the meting of Kamala Harris says about the direction of news and political campaigns, why Netflix points to a shrinking TV ad market and the perils of operating content and commerce businesses as part of one company.

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• 00:00 Introduction
• 06:09 Netflix vs. Apple TV: The Future of Streaming
• 16:51 The Meme Election
• 24:42 The Role of AI in Media and Advertising
• 35:59 The Evolution of Content Creation Tools
• 38:07 The Cookiepocalypse and Ad Tech Cynicism
• 40:31 Performance Media and Brand Building
• 44:37 Content and Commerce: The Houdinki Case Study
• 51:32 The Future of Digital Media and Monetization
• 58:56 Media Investments and Optimism
• 01:01:00 Good Product

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump was a stress test for the Information Space, and a reminder of just how much the media has changed. You had mainstream news outlets jockeying with individuals holding forth with a collection of expertise, conspiracies, jokes, memes and partisan potshots. Some of it was informative, some of it was hilarious, some of it was infuriating, and much of it was… entertaining? We unpack yet another crazy plot twist and look forward to what it means as the media business girds for what looks very likely to be a return to power of Donald Trump and an ascendent political movement that’s to a large degree successfully vanquished the packaged news media.

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• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:50 Personal Media Consumption Experiences
• 04:13 The Evolution of Media and Information
• 08:08 Trump's Influence on Media and Politics
• 15:13 The Future of Media in a Polarized World
• 26:23 Trump's Media Mastery and Political Impact
• 38:34 Tech's Political Landscape
• 42:44 Big Tech vs. Small Tech
• 44:26 The Role of Media in Politics
• 49:55 The Rise of YouTube as a Podcast Platform
• 53:58 The Evolution of Digital Advertising
• 01:03:51 Good Product

The tidal wave of crap is a reality in the Information Space. This week, we discuss the rules of winning in the Information Space, including why it helps to get into fights, present as authoritative and authentic, and above all else to be willing to be shameless.

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• 00:00 Introduction
• 03:00 Threads and Social Media Dynamics
• 06:16 The Rise of Authenticity
• 11:17 Traditional Media's Role
• 16:19 AI and Productivity
• 32:41 The Role of Hyperbole and Conspiracy Theories
• 34:20 The New Rules of the Information Space
• 42:53 The Importance of Podcasts in Modern Media
• 52:56 Good Product

In this July 4th episode, Alex, Brian and Troy chat about whether life will ever get back to 'normal,' Threads vs. X, gamer saints and AI dogs.

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• 00:00 Holiday Podcast Kickoff
• 00:59 Media Industry: Past, Present, and Future
• 02:55 The Canonized Gamer Boy
• 04:20 The Rise of Viral Fame
• 05:54 Threads vs. X: The Social Media Debate
• 07:41 The Future of Social Media
• 09:08 AI and Surveillance in Everyday Life
• 19:56 The Changing Landscape of War
• 22:16 FigmaCon and the Future of Design
• 24:42 Music Industry's Battle with AI
• 27:12 The Future of Publishing and Media
• 34:15 The Role of Legacy Media
• 38:05 Embracing Change in Media
• 40:31 Summertime Recommendations

Troy and Brian discuss the realist mood in Cannes, the key to good brand events, why hotels need a good playlist and Perplexity serving as an AI boogeyman.

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• 00:00 Introduction
• 04:17 Media Memberships and Loyalty
• 06:48 Hospitality and Technology
• 12:22 Events and Differentiation
• 14:55 Cannes Observations and Reflections
• 18:01 Media Industry Dynamics
• 27:15 Exploring with AI in Paris and London
• 32:30 The Rise of Perplexity and Content Theft
• 36:33 Publishers vs. AI Crawlers
• 41:27 The Future of Media and Distribution
• 46:24 Good Product

Apple has entered the AI fray with a compelling view of using it to remove friction that gets in the way of people want to get things done. The issue arises for those who create that friction by serving as intermediaries.

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• 00:39 Introduction to People vs. Algorithms
• 04:23 Apple's WWDC Highlights
• 10:29 Privacy and Trust in Tech
• 27:30 Microsoft's Rewind Feature Controversy
• 33:33 The Enduring Relevance of the Phone
• 38:45 Advertising Trends and Challenges
• 48:11 The War on the Inbox
• 53:57 Sleep and Technology

Technology acts as a compressor. AI is the latest pressure point. This week, we look at compression in software development, marketing and publishing. We then go into the difficult challenge of change management at the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

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• 00:53 Mailbag
• 02:41 The Decline of Blockbuster and Rise of Netflix
• 05:14 The Future of Software and AI's Impact
• 10:29 AI in Marketing and Customer Support
• 28:26 Navigating Change in Media Organizations
• 32:05 Digital Transformation in Media
• 35:34 The Decline of Traditional Newspapers
• 38:09 Strategies for Media Reinvention
• 47:36 The Role of Unions in Media
• 49:57 Good Product
• 56:52 Closing Remarks

In this episode Brian, Troy, and Alex talk about AI hallucinations, and how they mirror human misperceptions. Troy believes the open web and traditional media will still hold value, while Alex thinks AI and platforms like Google and social media will take over. They also touch on the future of ad-supported AI services and SEO, Vivek Ramaswamy’s anti-BuzzFeed campaign and a genius idea about electing presidents.

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• 00:00 Spicy Takes
• 00:54 AI Hallucinations: The Human Aspect
• 01:49 The Future of AI and Media
• 02:44 Debate: Is the Web Dead?
• 04:45 The Role of Media Brands in the AI Era
• 12:17 Advertising and AI: A New Economy
• 14:29 The Impact of AI on Content Discovery
• 20:30 Legal and Ethical Considerations
• 22:57 The Future of Media and AI Integration
• 27:46 Union Pressures and Performance Reviews
• 30:02 The Future of Media and Open Web
• 34:46 Buzzfeed and Media Outsiders
• 41:26 The Role of AI in Leadership
• 44:46 Good Product
• 49:29 Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks

What do tech and media look like in five years? Plus: Sam Altman as slippery character and AI comes to search and devices.

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• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:28 Sam Altman and Scarlett Johansson Controversy
• 06:43 Microsoft's AI Integration in Hardware
• 13:39 Google AI and the Future of Search
• 20:32 Speculations on AI's Long-Term Effects
• 33:21 Five Years into the Future: A Thought Exercise
• 40:39 AI Redefines Hardware
• 44:50 Advertising in the AI Era
• 50:05 Media Consumption Trends
• 57:36 Good Product
• 01:03:53 Podcast Reflections

Brian, Alex, and Troy get into the new AI updates from OpenAI and Google. They unpack how these big changes might shake up industries like media and advertising, and what that means for our daily tech interactions.

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• 00:00 Catching Up and Studio Updates
• 00:46 Introduction to People vs. Algorithms
• 00:59 The AI Revolution: Predictions and Impacts
• 03:00 Reflecting on Last Week's Episode and Media Sustainability
• 09:16 Exploring the New Era of AI and Its Implications
• 11:15 The Potential and Challenges of Advanced AI Interfaces
• 19:14 The Future of Education, Work, and Technology
• 25:05 Universal Basic Compute and Societal Impacts
• 28:27 The Social Media Backlash and GPT-4's Impact
• 30:19 Reflecting on Past Tech Hype: From TCP/IP to the iPhone
• 32:34 The Future of Computing and the Internet
• 38:19 Navigating the Shift: Strategies for Media and Tech Companies
• 43:32 The Role of AI and Social Media in the Future
• 46:56 Creative Missteps: The Controversial Apple Ad
• 50:41 The Evolution of Streaming and Live Content
• 54:34 Good Product

Jess Sibley, CEO of Time, joins Brian and Troy to discuss adapting Time to today’s digital challenges. Jess shares her strategies for navigating algorithm changes and AI, shifting Time’s focus from consumer to business-oriented models, and the implications for digital content and monetization.

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• 00:00 Guest Introduction
• 01:13 Navigating the Chaos in Search and AI's Impact on Publishing
• 01:27 Modernizing Legacy Brands and the Shift from B2C to B2B
• 02:42 The Evolution of Media and Google's Algorithm Changes
• 05:49 Exploring Revenue Diversification and the Future of Publishing
• 12:33 The Impact of AI and Search on Media Strategies
• 21:54 Time's Transformation and Strategic Partnerships
• 27:54 The Role of Time Magazine in a Digital Age
• 32:19 Time Studios and Future Media Projects
• 35:15 The Benioffs' Leadership at Time
• 41:54 Exclusive Insights: High-Profile Interviews and Media Impact
• 49:07 Navigating the Media Landscape: Strategy and Culture at Time
• 54:12 Addressing Brand Safety in Journalism
• 01:00:18 The Future of Time: Trust, Impact, and Audience Engagement
• 01:02:42 Good Product: The Significance of AirPods and Music

Brian, Troy, and Alex discuss the commercialization of the internet and the impact of AI on media. They explore big media-tech partnerships, the evolving role of AI in content distribution, and the potential benefits and challenges AI brings to our digital lives.

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Topics:

• 00:00 Opening Banter and Personal Updates
• 02:46 AI Negotiations and Media Deals: A Deep Dive
• 09:14 The Future of Media and Content Creation
• 19:29 Navigating the World of AI Products and Market Trends
• 26:34 Reflections on AI Device Launches and Market Impact
• 35:53 Google's AI Ambitions and the Pixel Phone
• 37:57 AI's Role in Customer Service and Its Ethical Implications
• 40:31 AI's Influence on Advertising and Branding
• 43:17 The Fediverse: A New Approach to Social Media and Content Distribution
• 58:49 Navigating the Overload of Email Newsletters
• 01:03:49 Good Product Recommendations and Cultural Commentary

Omnicom digital chief Jonathan Nelson joins the show to discuss why ad agencies, forever under threat, will adapt to AI. We go into Omnicom's purchase of Flywheel Digital, a software company for digital commerce -- a further sign that the next phase of what we used to call the internet will be defined by commerce rather than advertising.

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Topics:

• 00:00 Opening Banter and Warm-Up
• 00:31 Introduction to 'People vs. Algorithms' Podcast
• 01:33 The Future of Magazines and Ad Agencies in the AI Era
• 03:57 Navigating the Digital and Media Landscape: Insights and Anecdotes
• 22:04 Navigating Media, Identity, and the Outlaw Mentality
• 36:54 The Dawn of Digital Agencies and Banner Ads
• 39:21 Evolution of Advertising: From Novelty to Foundation
• 43:52 The Future of Advertising: AI, Ethics, and Consumer Impact
• 50:52 Navigating the Media Landscape: Relationships and Technology
• 55:15 The Role of Websites and Consumer Behavior Online
• 57:36 Reflections on Advertising, Technology, and Career Advice
• 01:09:04 Concluding Thoughts on AI, Ethics, and the Future of Advertising

In this episode Alex, Brian and Troy dive into topics like how AI is changing advertising, the ways tech meets human needs, and the big shifts society might see because of tech. They chat about everything from AI taking over creative jobs to why we still need a human touch in things like art.

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Topics:

• 00:00 Exploring Polycules and Regional Acceptance
• 00:59 Welcome to People vs. Algorithms: Unpacking Media and Tech
• 01:09 Insights from the Possible Conference: Marketing and AI's Future
• 04:44 The Impact of AI on Advertising and Creativity
• 06:59 AI's Role in Advertising: A Deep Dive
• 14:20 The Future of Advertising Agencies in the AI Era
• 17:27 The Quirks of Product Marketing and Consumerism
• 19:22 The Humane Product Launch: A Case Study in Failure
• 25:28 Exploring the Limits of AI in Personal and Professional Services
• 30:46 The Debate Over AI in Our Lives: Convenience vs. Human Connection
• 33:20 The Dystopian and Utopian Views of AI's Future
• 41:22 The Socio-Economic Implications of AI and Technology
• 47:46 Navigating the Digital Age: Truth, Trust, and Technology
• 54:57 Yahoo's Evolution and the Future of Digital Platforms
• 01:00:12 Closing Thoughts and Listener Feedback

In this episode Brian, Troy, and Alex dive into AI mishaps in Teslas, muse over BuzzFeed's AI pivot, and ponder the future of creativity in tech. They chat about navigating power in the digital age, laugh at media's latest shenanigans, and champion the underdog entrepreneurs shaking things up.

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Topics:

• 00:00 Tesla's Autopilot Update
• 01:02 Introducing People Vs. Algorithms
• 05:32 BuzzFeed's AI Pivot and the Future of Media
• 22:19 AI's Impact on Creativity and the Music Industry
• 26:30 The New York Times Embraces AI for Audio Articles
• 33:09 Diving into the Concept of Power
• 36:11 The Journey to Gaining Power: Personal Stories and Advice
• 43:10 Understanding Power in the Context of Career and Entrepreneurship
• 49:31 AI's Influence on Power Dynamics and Organizational Structures
• 54:24 Reflecting on Media, AI, and the Future of Content Creation
• 59:47 Good Product Recommendations

With Alex still on vacation, Axios senior media reporter Sara Fischer joins Troy and Brian to break down the current state of the media business, including why TikTok is winning, the death of aggregation as a competitive advantage, why social media is a major reason women’s sports is one of the hottest segments, The New York Times as an extensible model and the future of print magazines as marketing pieces.

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Topics:

• 00:00 Brooklyn, Miami or Washington?
• 01:10 Introducing 'People vs. Algorithms': A Deep Dive into Media Trends
• 02:37 The Power of Distinctive Journalism in Today's Media
• 05:39 The Evolution of News Consumption and the Rise of TikTok
• 07:41 The Future of Media: Between Eras and the AI Influence
• 10:00 The Art of Distinctive Reporting in the Digital Age
• 12:51 Exploring the Success of The New York Times and Other Media Giants
• 21:22 The Rise of Women's Sports and the Impact of Social Media
• 25:52 The Ongoing Battles in the Media Industry
• 34:04 The Shift in Media Brand Strategies
• 36:20 The Evolution of Legacy Media and New Upstarts
• 39:25 Navigating the Complexities of Media Business Models
• 52:35 Exploring the Future of Reddit and Other Platforms
• 56:17 Beyonce's New Album: A Cultural Phenomenon

Emily, Brian and Troy delve into the complex world of influencers and celebrities as they navigate public scrutiny and fame in the digital age. They explore the societal impact of extensive phone use and the rise of influencers creating their own brands.

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Topics:

• 00:00 An Unforgettable Trip to the Grenadines: The Start of an Influencer's Journey
• 01:12 Introducing 'People vs. Algorithms': A Deep Dive into Media, Tech, and Culture
• 01:17 Emily Sundberg's Unique Blend of Business and Culture in 'Feed Me'
• 02:31 Exploring the Complex World of Influence and Celebrity
• 08:11 The Intricacies of Being an Influencer and the Impact on Personal Identity
• 16:01 The Huberman Controversy: A Case Study in Celebrity and Accountability
• 30:52 The Future of Celebrity: Microdramas and the New Age of Public Scrutiny
• 38:19 The Unpreparedness of Rising Influencers
• 41:57 The Personal Touch in Building a Brand
• 47:06 Exploring the Future of Work and Influence
• 53:27 Navigating the Complexities of a Digital Career
• 01:03:13 The Impact of Technology on Society and Personal Life
• 01:06:48 The Good Product Corner

In this episode of 'People vs. Algorithms,' hosts Brian Morrissey, Troy Young, and Alex Schleifer engage in a wide-ranging discussion on how algorithms shape our cultural landscape, the future of AI in content creation, and the consequences of a digitally dominated world. They share insights from the Game Developer Conference about the optimism among independent studios and discuss the ramifications of algorithmic sameness across media. The episode features a detailed conversation with Kyle Chayka, a writer at the New Yorker and author of 'Filterworld,' centering on how algorithms are flattening culture and what it means for creators and consumers alike.

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Topics:

• 00:00 Kicking Off at the Game Developer Conference
• 06:42 The Future of AI in Gaming: Opportunities and Challenges
• 08:40 Navigating the Complexities of AI Ethics and Open Source Debates
• 19:49 The Middle Management Dilemma: Efficiency vs. Human Touch
• 27:33 Listener Questions: The Future of Learning and AI's Role
• 34:01 The Digital Dilemma: Navigating Education and Work in a Tech-Driven World
• 34:48 Rethinking Education: A Vision for the Future
• 35:08 Introducing Kyle: A Deep Dive into Algorithms and Culture
• 35:48 The Impact of Algorithms on Culture and Individuality
• 38:41 Exploring the Future: The Role of Algorithms in Shaping Our World
• 43:02 The Algorithmic Influence: From Consumption to Creation
• 47:29 Navigating the Algorithmic Landscape: Personal Experiences and Strategies
• 51:36 The Future of Culture in the Age of Algorithms
• 55:59 The Personal and Professional Impact of Living Online
• 59:01 Envisioning a Future Beyond Algorithmic Feeds
• 01:06:28 Exploring Good Products

As Alex says, the ground is shifting more and faster than it has in some time in the tech world, which usually means gaping craters are opened to swallow up media companies. We discuss the Reddit IPO, X apparently pivoting to video – we recorded this prior to Don Lemmon announcing he wouldn’t be launching his show on X after an apparently disastrous interview with Elon Musk pissed off Musk, go figure – and the effort to ban TikTok.

We also have a guest this week. Tony Stubblebine joined us to discuss where Medium fits in the information space. We talked to Tony about how Medium aims to be the place for expert content, why journalism is apparently expensive to produce because journalists have to learn about the stuff they cover, and the frequent misalignment of incentives in the media business, particularly ones reliant on advertising.

Submit a question or comment for the show here: https://memo.fm/pva/

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Topics:

• 00:00 Introducing the Voicemail Feature: A New Way to Engage
• 01:44 Welcome to People vs. Algorithms: Unpacking Media and Tech Shifts
• 02:06 Deep Dive into Reddit's IPO and the Future of Social Platforms
• 02:44 Exploring Medium's Journey and Its Place in the Digital World
• 04:29 Listener Engagement and the Future of Podcasting
• 05:18 Analyzing Reddit's Strategy and Its Impact on the Digital Landscape
• 16:17 X Pivoting to Video
• 19:46 The Controversial Debate: The Potential TikTok Ban
• 25:20 Apple's Strategy and the Shifting Tech Landscape
• 32:21 Medium's New Direction Under CEO Tony Stubblebine
• 40:44 Evaluating Medium's Pivot to Subscription and Target Author Strategy
• 41:26 The Power of Expert Content in the Digital Age
• 43:03 The Debate Over Text vs. Video Content
• 44:05 The Importance of Writing in an Evolving Internet
• 44:55 Addressing Changing Consumer Habits and Content Consumption
• 48:56 The Future of Twitter and Social Media Platforms
• 50:36 Exploring Federation and Content Distribution Strategies
• 51:37 Navigating Negotiations with AI Companies
• 55:17 The Potential and Challenges of Reddit's IPO
• 58:13 The Role of Medium in Independent Expert Content Creation
• 59:39 Reflecting on the State of Professional Media
• 01:08:33 Closing Thoughts and Future Directions
• 01:11:12 The Impact of Advertising on Business and Culture

This week, we discuss how to turn the ship at two very different companies facing different challenges: CNN and Google. At CNN, former New York Times CEO Mark Thompson is looking to reinvent the still very profitable broadcaster into a more nimble, digitally focused operation as its viewership and cultural importance fade. Google is facing its biggest threat yet in the form of AI and signs with Gemini AI image search that there might just be something to those complaints about a “woke culture.” Plus: nostalgia for websites, invisible paywalls and Substack’s next chapter.

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Topics:

• 00:00 Opening Banter and Homework Check
• 00:05 Diving Into Mark Thompson's Memo and Corporate Speak
• 01:20 Introducing People vs. Algorithms
• 01:49 The Challenges at CNN and Google
• 02:29 CNN's Transformation and Strategy Discussion
• 07:13 Exploring the Impact of AI and Invisible Paywalls
• 11:38 The Future of Publishing and Websites
• 17:08 Debating the Role of Websites in Media Today
• 27:52 Substack's Strategy and the Future of Content Creation
• 33:32 Reimagining CNN's Strategy in the AI Era
• 45:27 Exploring Perplexity's Innovations and Potential
• 46:57 The Future of News: AI and Media Evolution
• 47:14 Navigating the Challenges of Legacy Media in the Digital Age
• 49:01 The Blurred Lines of Modern Media Brands
• 57:17 The Dilemma of Independence in the Media Landscape
• 58:57 Google's Leadership and Innovation Challenges
• 01:00:14 The Cultural and Structural Issues at Google
• 01:14:53 Redefining Product Management in Tech
• 01:17:04 The Essence of Good Content: Vice and Beyond
• 01:22:18 Closing Thoughts and Future Engagements

This week, we're joined by Puck fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman, who gives her view on how to build a career in journalism during what's billed as an "extinction event." Hint: persistence plays a big part. Plus: Troy gets nostalgic about Vice. 

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Topics:

• 00:00 Introduction and Personal Anecdotes
• 01:06 Welcome to People vs. Algorithms
• 01:36 Guest Introduction: Lauren Sherman
• 01:49 Discussion on Media Industry Changes
• 03:41 Reflections on Podcasting
• 16:30 Guest Arrival: Lauren Sherman
• 18:01 Discussion on Fashion Industry
• 30:48 Surviving in the Journalism Industry
• 33:35 The Drive and Luck Behind Success
• 34:16 The Journey to Becoming a Staff Writer
• 34:37 The Role of Persistence in Journalism
• 35:00 The Intersection of Business and Fashion
• 35:33 Navigating High-Risk Career Paths
• 35:52 The Decision Against Starting a Business
• 36:35 The Importance of Being Part of Something Bigger
• 37:01 The Value of Having an Editor
• 37:27 The Challenges of Managing Your Own Business
• 37:46 The Dilemma of Moving into Management
• 38:18 The Pitfalls of Pushing Passionate People into Management
• 38:34 The Appeal of Working at Puck
• 39:41 The Struggles of Being a Manager
• 40:23 The Importance of Staying Close to the Product
• 41:25 The Reality of Working in the Media Industry
• 53:02 The Impact of Puck on Access and Influence
• 54:50 Advice for Aspiring Journalists

Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel joins the show to discuss how a publisher reliant on search traffic is back in growth mode, the future of the affiliate business, the impact of generative AI on traffic-dependent publishing businesses, why performance comes before premium in advertising strategies and that time Prince played the Webby Awards.

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Topics:

• 00:00 Introduction and Subscription Banter
• 01:24 Introduction to the Show and Hosts
• 01:38 Discussion on Media Industry and Technology
• 02:10 Introduction to Dotdash Meredith and its CEO
• 02:59 Discussion on Media Business and Advertising
• 04:22 Feedback and Contact Information
• 04:47 Discussion on Upcoming Guest and Industry Challenges
• 05:31 Discussion on AI and Technology News
• 09:07 Introduction of Guest Neil Vogel
• 09:31 Discussion on Media Business and Future Predictions
• 11:33 Discussion on AI and Content Generation
• 13:22 Discussion on Brand Advertising and Content Budget Allocation
• 39:42 Content Strategy Across Different Verticals
• 40:32 The Importance of Local Decision Making
• 41:11 The Role of Innovation in Media Industry
• 41:32 Exploring the Potential of Technology in Media
• 44:21 The Power of AI in Content Creation
• 44:35 The Future of Recipe Content
• 45:14 The Impact of Personalities in Branding
• 45:45 Reflections on the Print Business
• 48:56 The Challenges and Opportunities in Media Industry
• 49:34 The Role of Brands in the Digital Age
• 52:19 The Importance of Innovation and Taking Risks
• 54:06 The Future of Media in the Age of AI
• 54:48 The Power of Optimism in Leadership
• 57:46 The Impact of Celebrity Appearances in Events
• 01:04:29 The Influence of Google on Publishers
• 01:09:05 The Future of Content Creation with AI
• 01:11:31 Closing Remarks and Future Predictions

The arrival of AI means the paradigm of searching for information and entertainment will give way to instant delivery. This week, we discuss the implications for the media ecosystem.

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Skip to topic:

• 00:00 Introduction and Casual Conversation
• 00:08 The Power of Virtual Reality in Work
• 00:26 The Exhaustion of Video Calls
• 01:12 Introduction to the Show
• 01:57 Discussion on the Evolution of the Internet
• 02:50 The Rise of Tech Empires
• 03:07 Surviving in the Age of Tech Empires
• 03:57 Super Bowl Discussion
• 06:38 The Impact of the NFL
• 09:35 The Power of Super Bowl Commercials
• 10:56 The Rise of Temu
• 14:53 "Spulu": A New Sports Streaming Service
• 22:59 The Struggles of Microsoft's Gaming Division
• 27:48 The Art of Negotiation and Independent Game Development
• 28:18 The Struggles and Successes of Entrepreneurship
• 28:57 Venture Capital and the Challenges of Scaling a Business
• 30:09 The Impact of Social Media Platforms on Engagement
• 33:00 The Future of the Internet and Content Creation
• 38:19 The Role of AI in Shaping the Internet Economy
• 42:22 The Importance of Unique Content and Branding in the AI Era
• 44:58 The Challenges and Opportunities of Content Creation in the AI World
• 47:51 The Future of Media and the Internet Economy
• 50:06 Final Thoughts on the Future of the Internet

In this episode Alex, Brian, and Troy, with guest Rafat Ali, discuss the future of technology, focusing on the Apple Vision Pro's impact on work, personal life, and media consumption. They explore its potential to revolutionize how we interact with digital content and the broader implications for traditional media and AI in content creation.

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Skip to topics:

• 00:00 Introduction to the Virtual World
• 00:16 Exploring the Avatar's Appearance
• 00:33 Discussing the Potential of Virtual Reality
• 00:54 Debating the Implications of Body Mapping
• 01:04 The Impact of Technology on Human Behavior
• 01:49 Embracing the New Virtual Reality
• 02:12 The Practicality of the Virtual World
• 03:19 The Future of Virtual Reality
• 03:46 Overcoming Buyer's Remorse
• 04:00 The Virtual Workspace
• 07:39 Addressing the Dork Factor
• 20:55 The Future of Mainstream Media
• 23:11 The Role of Media in Today's World
• 34:08 The Future of B2B Media
• 39:16 The Impact of AI on Web Traffic and Journalism
• 40:24 The Limitations of AI in Complex Analysis
• 41:07 Exploring the Role of AI Chatbots in Business
• 43:22 The Future of Web Browsing and Information Retrieval
• 47:32 The Role of Tech Giants in Shaping the Internet's Future
• 48:40 The Challenges and Opportunities in Modern Journalism
• 51:11 The Evolution of Media Consumption
• 53:45 The Future of Media: Predictions and Speculations
• 55:53 The Role of Media in Shaping Public Perception
• 58:08 The Impact of Technology on Media Consumption
• 01:00:32 The Future of Journalism in the Digital Age
• 01:02:27 The Role of Media in Shaping the Future
• 01:05:31 The Challenges and Opportunities in the Media Industry
• 01:07:18 The Future of Media: A Look Ahead
• 01:08:46 Conclusion: The State of Media Today

With an era of digital media ending in chaos, we look ahead to the challenges media companies face in fixing a product that in most instances is far behind the times.

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Layoffs at The Los Angeles Times, the end of the road for Pitchfork, and an uncertain future for Sports Illustrated illustrate how digital media is architected to collapse the middle of the media business, leaving a precious few scaled players and many scrappy outfits.

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This week we talk CES, the ongoing silliness of the Bill Ackman-Business Insider feud, and why news aggregation apps are the obvious solution in search of a (monetizable) problem.

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This week, we dig into the latest front into the so-called hit piece. Last week, Business Insider published a pair of stories that dug into the academic record of Neri Oxman, a former MIT professor. Oxman happens to be the wife of Bill Ackman, a powerful activist investor who has been on a campaign against the leaders of top universities, including Harvard's Claudine Gay, who resigned a week ago after plagiarism accusations. The Wall Street Journal meanwhile continued its scrutiny of Elon Musk with a piece that looked into his drug use and whether it has negatively impacted his stewardship of his companies and the requirements of federal law since Starlink is a government contractor. The pieces raise the question of what a fair target for accountability journalism, and whether drug use is the issue or behavior exhibited during drug use (or without drugs of any kind, outside the intoxicant of ego). Finally, we consider the Apple Vision Pro and the prospect of people on planes with it strapped to their faces.

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The New Year is maybe the perfect holiday. It’s celebrated by just about every culture and creed. And in a time of great division, we sorta come together around the idea of a new year meaning a new start. And we probably need that. This week, we look at reasons for hope, what lies ahead for AI, the coming legal and regulatory battles with Big Tech, and why it's probably safer to be an electrician.

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Troy and Brian go over some of the lessons of 2023 and look ahead to 2024, starting with the end of the long era of dominance of the search engine results page and the dawn of a new SERP and promise of a new syndication paradigm that's reminiscent of the portal era.

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Troy and Alex kept the conversation going after the recording of last episode. After sharing a "transcendental" experience with Chat GPT, Alex explained why he doesn't want a Cybertruck and Troy is compelled to play GTA 6.

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In news, we discuss Google's antitrust loss, the miracle of Cheddar selling for $200 million, 5-Hour Energy Guy cleaning house at SI and zombie cable TV. Next, it's onto 2024 storylines, including AI's coming specialization, and platforms and publishers breaking up.

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We live in an age of cults, narratives and fleeting fame. Centralization is giving way to a fragmented culture and media landscape that is open, chaotic and not for the faint of heart. This week, we explore the fault lines of the Information Space.

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The website might be dying. How will this affect media and advertising? We cover this and other hot topics in today’s episode.

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The OpenAI drama exposed fault lines in the very unique culture of Silicon Valley, highlighting the imperfect methods used to serve as a check on the growing power of the tech industry. 

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AI agents will accelerate the interface shift and change the economics of software, media and beyond.

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The power of brands has eroded, particularly media brands. The path forward for legacy media brands is uncertain but almost assuredly both less glamorous and less lucrative -- and that's with the understanding that media companies usually had bigger brands than they had businesses. The arrival of AI is likely to accelerate that decline.

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9-5 Girl on TikTok sparked a debate over the outdated ideas of the 9-5 work day, which was stared by Henry Ford for the Industrial Era. Time and again, new generations have reacted against conventions and ended up pushing for change. We consider how this will accelerate change in work, politics and more.

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While many people pretend that “the media” are still gatekeepers to information, those days are past. The information space is a free for all in which the news industry is only a part, and arguably not even the most important part. From podcasts to newsletters to TikToks to tweets, the decentralized information space is already here and its evolution will have far reaching implications well beyond the fate of news companies and impact society itself. 

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On a crossover episode of The Rebooting Show and People vs Algorithms, Alex and Brian discuss zero-interest rate phenomena and how they distorted by the tech industry and media industry -- all while giving us subsidized and unlicensed taxis and hotels along with some really silly stuff like all those scooters and the 15-minute delivery services that never made economic sense. With the new mantra of higher-for-longer, not to mention the promise and specter of AI, we discuss how that affects the type of business you build. 

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“Deliver something nobody else is delivering,” advises Milk Street’s Christopher Kimball. The media veteran, who created Cooks Country and America’s Test Kitchen, joins the show to discuss why media needs to go back to basics to build lasting brands or be left behind as digital flotsam in an algorithmic feed.

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You don't have to be an engineer or be a developer to be a product person, although it helps. This week, we discuss how Elon Musk makes products, why non-technical people gravitate to product management and where media products go wrong.

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Bustle Digital Group's Bryan Goldberg joins to discuss why the scale era wasn't as great as it was portrayed. The future of digital media will be about brands that can hold cultural heft and use it well beyond the page to escape the yoke of algorithms.

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Most of the challenges facing media come down to misaligned incentives. Publishers face a bad set of options to serve the competing interests of advertisers and the audience while keeping the lights on. The horror show of UK news sites is a sign of things to come. Publishers and platforms have long had misaligned incentives, as games studios are belatedly finding out, while companies are struggling to balance the incentives of workers, management and shareholders.

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This week, we discuss the rebundling, with a focus on the future of pay TV and why tech companies will inevitably be the rebundlers with media companies the rebundled.

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One person's "fire-breathing dragon" is another person's asshole. The zero-interest rate era is in the rearview mirror, and businesses will be under more pressure to do more with less. Between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, there is a celebration of behavior that might easily be described as assholish. This week, we contemplate where the line exists, particularly in an ambitious work environment.

Plus: How our love of narratives gives rise to simplistic heroes-and-villains fables, and a defense of Burning Man as a haven of "creative optimists."

• Making Sense: Can We Contain Artificial Intelligence?
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The foundations of mass media continue to erode, from the declining relevance of presidential debates to the uncertain future of TV in a streaming era to publishing brands becoming distribution channels for energy supplements.

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In this Brian-free episode Troy and Alex discuss the tension between media and tech, what changed and why. Plus: weird billionaire takes, the next internet, and a new browser.

• Debating the Future of AI: A Conversation with Marc Andreessen
• The Value of News Content to Google is Way More Than You Think
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This week Troy, Brian and Alex talk about their summer media habits when on vacation or just trying to unplug.

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Maybe publishing stinks as a scaled business, and it won't ever be otherwise. The most promising models I see tend to focus on elite audiences of business or political decision makers, lifestyle segments that lend themselves to commercial transactions or front operations for other more lucrative businesses in completely different categories. That will require a refactoring of publishing organizations to cover more ground with fewer resources. 

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This week: Media cannot escape being aggregated; Elon Musk's superapp fever dream; Hollywood's dead-cat bounce with Barbieheimer; and publishers look to events to exit a tough digital ad market.

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Every business deals with disruption and challenges, but the media business is somewhat unique in having such profound upheavals to its distribution paradigms. Music faced it first. Publishing went next. And now we’re seeing entertainment, whether TV or film, face the same turbulence as distribution shifts to streaming and the economics change profoundly. Plus: what’s cool, why corporate values aren’t much of a moat, how Airbnb puts design at the heart of everything it does and a review of Homewood Suites.

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The zero-interest rate is in the rearview mirror. And now comes the repricing, not just of assets but also talent. ESPN's been cutting high-priced on-air talent as it prepares for an end to the golden era of cable bundle subsidies. We've seen this happen already to the magazine industry, where the all-powerful magazine editor has faded and these roles become just another job. The clear path for most talent is to take an independent path and develop their own media company as opposed to being at the mercy of corporate whims.

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The open web has never faced more threats, and the prevailing winds of the digital economy are working against the principles and infrastructure that has underpinned the open web for the past generation.

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The FTC has declared war on dark patterns, the use of design to manipulate people into taking actions against their interests. It settled with Publishers Clearinghouse and sued Amazon for what the FTC says are efforts to track and trap people into recurring Amazon Prime subscriptions. The line between optimizations and dark patterns is fuzzy, not least in the media industry. 

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The old levers of the media business aren't working. This is a time of existential change in many parts of the media business. This week, Troy and Brian consider the divergent paths taken by The New York Times and CNN. The times has successfully reoriented its business to the DTC lane, after a near-death experience during the Financial Crisis. CNN, on the other hand, never faced such dire straits. Thanks to the insulation of the cable model, with carriage fees paid no matter the rating, CNN could put off such profound shifts. But as the old saying goes, if you're uncomfortable with change, you're going to like irrelevance even less. CNN is still a cash generator, producing a reported $750 million in profits last year, but the cable model that underpins its business is crumbling. What path should it take?

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Apple has unveiled its long-anticipated entree into mixed reality, with the announcement of a headset that will be available starting next year. We discuss whether the Vision Pro stands a chance as a mass consumer product, along with the outlook for CNN as its revamp devolves into chaos.

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Ads are like cockroaches. You might not like them, but they always find a way to survive and multiply. But without a doubt, the ad industry is facing momentous challenges, not just from short term economic pressures, but the possibility of structural collapse from the shifts driven by AI.

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This week, Troy, Alex and I discuss a variety of topics, ranging from Alex’s beef with advertising, whether gaming will ever be fully mainstream, the potential collapse of the cable bundle without sports programming, and how AI could enable super-empowered individuals. Also, Troy reports back with curios from a trip to Tim Horton's.

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The pageview has long been the atomic unit of the internet. The business of digital publishing has revolved around it. But in a world of chatbots bringing information directly to people, the power of the page is set to decline as fewer people need to bounce from website to website, instead getting their information “directly to the vein.” This week, Troy, Alex and Brian discuss how the biggest change to search in a generation will drastically change the digital media business.

• Temu
• Palantir AIP | Defense and Military
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The battle for engagement has long been a losing battle. The arrival of AI, and the prospect of limitless synthetic content, means media companies on the hunt for engagement are bringing a butter knife to a gun fight. Perhaps it’s time to consider ambient media, the humbler request for people’s partial attention but done in such a way as to establish durable human connection.

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The commanding heights of the digital economy are control of the interface. It’s the interface through which the vast expanses of the tangle of data that makes up the digital economy are accessible. Think of the most powerful digital businesses and they are, in essence, interface businesses. Google is the interface for accessing information. Facebook is a social interface. TikTok is an entertainment interface. This week, Troy, Alex and Brian discuss how AI is already changing the interface for accessing information and implication that has for the media business and the digital economy as a whole.

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• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Today we talk about why a lack of alignment led to the demise of the once buzzy Buzzfeed News. We also dive into local news, how AI changes the scale game, and our now not so secret new project.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Nobody likes friction, at least in the moment. It stands in the way of accomplishing a task. Modern life in many ways has been an exercise in applying technology to remove friction from everyday processes. There has long been too much friction in media businesses, not just in delivery but in the service of making as much money as possible. This week, we discuss the positives and negatives of friction in media products.

Some links:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

This week, Troy, Alex and Brian discuss how we come up with ideas and take them through to execution. We break down the phases, from thinking to making to editing.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

This week, we discuss how the conversation about AI has broken into camps of maximalists, doomers and fatalists. AI looks poised at a minimum to accelerate shifts in media, creating new opportunities, new challenges and likely new destruction. Likely winners: niche and personality media, those with unique data sets and, yes, strong brands as a signal of trust in a world of Balenciaga Popes. All that might not matter much if AI proves to be humanity's undoing as our worship of technological advancement meets its predictable end with machines eradicating us.

For those who listened to our Formats episode, check out this post from PvA listener David Grant. Thanks, David.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

It's been 20 years, and despite endless attempts to bend the internet to its will, advertising remains a fraught part of the digital media experience. The internet put the consumer in control, connected the impression to the transaction, and in the process, completely transformed how we think about advertising, personal data sovereignty, and its underlying economics.

AI is about to change things all over again.

Troy, Alex, and Brian delve into digital advertising's messy history, failed attempts at innovation, and the impact of new interfaces that flatten the space between desire and fulfillment.

This week, we invite our Gen Z friend and Troy's son, Seb, to provide a generational perspective.

Plus, Succession is a good product. Enjoy!

Brian, Troy, and Alex tackle the fascinating topic of formats and explore why they can make or break media companies.

Note: this is a re-upload of the episode because Alex screwed it and uploaded an old episode the first time round. That's what you get for trusting RSS feeds.

Some links:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Brian, Troy, and Alex jump on a call to talk about that SVB thing and the discourse around it.

Some links:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

This week Brian, Troy and Alex discuss Substack, why it's turning into a platform, and why e-mail may or may not be its future.

Some links:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter
• The Humble Co. Compostable Dental Floss Sticks

Today Brian, Troy and Alex ask themselves "what is premium"? They also discuss bundling in its many different forms. How it changed internet media and how AI will change the entire concept of a bundle.

Plus: Alex hates advertising, Brian remains in Comfort+ and Troy loves his dog.

• Ranker
• Video: "I tried using AI. It scared me." by Tom Scott
• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities

Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Software has eaten the world, and for publishers that means a continuous battle to fend off second-order impacts of decisions made by tech companies battling each other or governments attempting to rein in tech companies. This week, we discuss the second-order impacts cascading through the industry from attempts to regulate digital privacy and from, of course, the development of AI. Also, what does Vice owing Ranker money say about media today?

• Ranker
• Video: "I tried using AI. It scared me." by Tom Scott
• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Troy, Alex and Brian discuss what's next for interfaces and how we will be getting our media in the future.

Show notes:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Universal Entities
• Donks by Felix Colgrave
• Crown Royal x Super Bowl LVII - Thank You Canada (this is the video Troy mentions at the end of the episode)
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Troy, Alex and Brian discuss differentiation or uniqueness and what it means as the algorithmic age moves into new territory.

Show notes:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Universal Entities
• "Kids in the 60s..." tweet
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

In this episode we discuss the virtues and misuses of optimism. We dig into how optimism gets applied to the way we build strategies, teams, and products in tech and media. We cover a lot in this near hour-long episode but we try to stay upbeat.

Show notes:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Universal Entities
• Laid Off by @AiyyoShraddha on YouTube
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

This week we’re talking about decisions: how to make them, when they go wrong, and the tough decisions that are often forced on you.

The longer your career goes, and the higher up you progress in organizations, the decisions you make become the core of your contribution. Make enough decisions, you’ll make plenty of bad ones. We see this clearly in the sharp U-Turn Silicon Valley is making from a series of hiring decisions they all made during the pandemic. It’s become something of a ritual for a SV CEO to announce thousands of job losses and take responsibility for the decisions that led to these cuts.

We discuss everything from how too often people hide behind data to abdicate their responsibility for decision to a framework Troy uses for decisions. Hope you find it valua

Show notes:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

We're still in January so we thought we might as well slip in a late predictions episode. Everyone came prepared.

Show notes:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

Brian's fresh off CES, where he saw no robots at all but definitely got a coffee behind a guy just wrapping up a big night. We’re going to talk about CES, both from a tech angle, as well as from a media and advertising angle, since it has become a go-to event for media executives to go and spend nearly all of their time in suites doing meetings.

We’re also going to dip into AI, which is set to be everywhere this year and is already eliciting excess excitement.

Show notes:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

This week, we consider whether we’re on the cusp of the end of the link era. The web was built on links. It connected the disparate nodes of the web and, crucially, brought some measure of serendipity to the internet. But the link is fading from its central role. Just this week, The Information broke news that Microsoft plans to bring ChatGPT to Bing, offering the tantalyzing possibility of Google feeling real competition for the first time in a long time – and bringing up the question of whether how people find information will change forever. The rise of walled gardens and apps made links less important. The advent of AI could very well be the final nail in the coffin for the link, and along with it another blow to the open web, which has already been under threat.

Show notes:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter
• The Information: Microsoft and OpenAI working on ChatGPT-Powered Bing

The end of calendar years tend to be times for resets. We like to use them as an excuse for a fresh start. This is why we have Sober January and even Veganuary, which I find far more popular in the UK for some reason, and gyms are crowded and I see people very red in the face out for their firs run in many, many months.

2023 is a year of reset expectations and that’s because, as we’ve discussed on this show, we are closing out an era and entering a new one whose contours are only coming into focus. The teetering economy will cause further stresses as all aspects of the economy and society begin to fully emerge not just from the pandemic era but a long run of economic growth.

Let’s face it: Expectations will be adjusted. We have seen this start in the technology industry, both with valuation expectations and worker expectations, and it will spread undoubtedly throughout the downstream economy, notably in media. We discuss the ramifications of these reset expectations for advertising, publishing and technology this week.

Show notes:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on TwitterTh

We’re closing out the year with a series of conversations that look at the trends that will define these patterns in media, technology and culture in the year ahead. Last week we started with artificial intelligence.

This week, we’re looking ahead to platforms, in particular social platforms, as they are in a time of transition. We look ahead and discuss what trend to expect as we sort through the role platforms will play as they’ve grown too big and too powerful perhaps for their and our own good.

Show notes:

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter
• Meta’s Galactica AI & The End Of Science

Thanks to AI, 2023 will likely be the year when we fall in love again with the magic that can be technology and also confront the thorny questions around misinformation, the nature of ownership and copyright and, oh by the way, will those of us who have mostly typed words for a living need to be retrained to do something else? There is also the grand existential question: Is it going to replace us?

Links:

The People vs Algorithm Newsletter

The Rebooting Newsletter

The Rebooting Podcasts

Universal Entities

This week, Troy, Alex and Brian discuss the fate of the open web through the lens of building sustainable publishing business models. One key shortcoming is around micropayments. Logic says this should exist. Even the most successful publishers convert only a small fraction of their total audience to paying subscribers. And that’s because of misaligned incentives. What makes sense for the audience does not make sense for publishers. The other lens is this week’s big deal between Yahoo and Taboola, the leading content recommendation ad network.

In this week's episode, Troy, Brian and Alex examine why we seem to be more susceptible to cults than ever before. We all have our own versions of reality, after all. For some, Elon Musk's slash-and-burn approach to "fixing" Twitter is insanity, but to others his extremely hard core approach part of a broader correction that is bring the expectations of workers back to reality. Plus: trolling as communication and why offices and podcasts are good products.

Between the collapse of FTX and the endless chaos and drama at Elon Musk's Twitter, this wasn’t a great time to be an all-knowing oracle. FTX is now bankrupt Meanwhile, over at Twitter, Elon Musk and his merry band of podcasters/hangers on continue to throw spaghetti against the wall, seeming without rhyme or reason. We break down why very smart and successful people like Sam Bankman-Fried and Elon Musk are stumbling so badly.

We live in a period of transitions. These periods are only clear in retrospect, of course. But much of the world is moving from an old era to a new era that is… unsettled. We don’t fully know, for instance, what the post-pandemic era, the new normal or whatever, will actually look like because we’re not there yet. So we exist in this uncomfortable in-between state.

This week, Troy and Brian discuss what in-between state, as the consumer tech industry and advertising industries start to decouple. The publishing industry is already in the midst of a transition from the pageview and scale era to, well, something new, which in my view will end up being smaller and more meaningful.

As always, we welcome your feedback. My email is [email protected]. Thank you to Jay Sparks of PodHelp.us for editing this podcast. The theme music was created by Alex Schleifer of Universal Entities.

This week we discuss what's making everyone feel so pessimistic. Plus Lex, Ye, the Coffee Lady, TikTok and rebranding Jesus.

Brian's intro: "This is our ninth episode of this show. We started out with a rough idea of what it would be, and we'll continue to evolve it as we go. One big help to us as we think through how to improve is to get your feedback.

This week we're talking about catastrophic. I was a history major and I still love reading history. Part of that is because there are patterns that exist in history.

The old saying is that history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. Mark Twain probably said that, and even if he didn't, he'd get credit for it on Twitter. Now, reading history helps you put what's happening around you, and it always seems like you're living through particularly chaotic and challenging times in some perspective, and I often feel.

Though what is now called the discourse is unhelpfully catastrophic? Yes, I know. There's war in Europe. Hundreds are dying every day of Covid still. We have political instability and retrograde forces. The economy is overheated and heading into perilous territory. Climate change is moving from uh, cause to a possible extinction event.

I could go on in short, it is not a good time if you are naturally inclined to anxiety. Yet this catastrophic warranted in areas like climate change for sure is likely counterproductive in the long run. You just need to go back to Cassandra.

She warned of impeding doom so much through her prophecies that when she warned of a real impending disaster, nobody believed her. We run that risk in our fragmented and tribalized media culture where it's popular to throw around terms like late capitalism and hellscape. Now ignoring problems is in the answer, but perhaps a bit of humility is, after all, none of us has all the answers to life's riddles."

Links:

The People vs Algorithm Newsletter

The Rebooting Newsletter

The Rebooting Podcasts

Universal Entities

This week, we are talking about the future of work, but not the way it is usually discussed these days. Instead of focusing on the how of work, we examine the what of work in an age of AI. Each day brings new advances in generative AI tools, showing a clear path to how technology will alter the nature of creation in profound ways. We also discuss how the coming AI boom will differ from the dot-com and Web 2.0 booms, which happened when people largely still saw technology advancements as hopeful progress, not threats. Finally, we give early impressions of Semafor, the new global news brand launched this week.

Big topic this week. Troy and Brian discuss AR/VR, AI art, and the many other ways humans are being turned into cyborgs. Troy's got a contrarian take on Meta's metaverse ambitions. Brian's got some stories about the good old days of Second Life. It's a good one.

Links:

The People vs Algorithm Newsletter

The Rebooting Newsletter

The Rebooting Podcasts

Universal Entities

This week we tackle everything from the fate of Twitter under Elon Musk; how you build brands in a media environment dictated by flow; and why in many ways we’re all cheaters to a degree as we augment our abilities with the help of technology.

Links:

The People vs Algorithm Newsletter

The Rebooting Newsletter

The Rebooting Podcasts

Universal Entities

We are in a strange time for the media business. There is a consensus that having a loyal audience has never been more valuable. You regularly hear people saying that every company, at some level, will be a media business in the future. And yet, being a media business is more challenging than ever, at least for quote unquote traditional media businesses. This week, Troy and Brian discuss just what makes a media business, and how it is completely different than what came before. It’s more about understanding digital culture, it’s more personality driven, and it is very often not about the quest for eyeballs to show ads, or even to sell subscriptions.

Links:

The People vs Algorithm Newsletter

The Rebooting Newsletter

The Rebooting Podcasts

Universal Entities

When media becomes more niche, institutional brands suffer. What used to be thought of as the long tail has now become a thick tail. Individual creators are poised to replace these niche brands as media and culture fragment. Plus: Is Google's stranglehold on search finally waning?

Links:

The People vs Algorithm Newsletter

The Rebooting Newsletter

The Rebooting Podcasts

Universal Entities

Today, Brian and Troy discuss whether media is better or not today? It's definitely different and there's some interesting stuff done in personal and niche media. Also, more Mr Beast burger talk, good podcasts, and Prince.

Show Links:

Drug Hunter

Skims

The Chernin Group

Mr Beast Burger

More by the hosts:

The People vs Algorithm Newsletter

The Rebooting Newsletter

The Rebooting Podcasts

Universal Entities

Today Brian and Troy discuss media, products, and how they come together. Lots of talk of fast food, fast fashion, and fast takes on todays media landscape.

Links:

The People vs Algorithm Newsletter

The Rebooting Newsletter

The Rebooting Podcasts

Universal Entities

In this inaugural episode Brian and Troy discuss who's the biggest asshole, Apple or Facebook? Also, is quiet quitting a thing and if so, is it bad? Plus, Game of Thrones, The Six Million Dollar Man, and watching ads in Saskatchewan.

Links:

The Rebooting Newsletter

The Rebooting Podcasts

The People vs Algorithm Newsletter

Universal Entities